Joaquim J.Ferreira, Neurologist, Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal)
Submitted December 09, 2019
We read with great interest the article by Waldvogel et al.1 The researchers report the cases of nine patients who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) who found their swimming ability deteriorated after DBS.
We recently found similar results in two studies focusing on PD patients’ swimming ability.2 According to our survey, 87.7% (n=243) of the patients noticed a change in swimming performance after disease onset and 49.1% (n=136) reported to have had a drowning or near-drowning episode.2 The mean disease duration of the participants was 6 years and all were able to swim before PD onset. In a subsequent study3 evaluating different styles of swimming, only 27% of patients (n = 3) were able to swim according to our definition. The majority of patients presented slower and smaller movements, coordination and breathing difficulties, and an inability to maintain a horizontal position.
We want to highlight that swimming difficulties are not a problem exclusively encountered by DBS patients. They can potentially affect any PD patient from the early stages of the disease. We also would like to reinforce the need to pay attention and to continue studying this important safety issue.
Disclosure
The authors report no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References
Waldvogel D, Baumann-Vogel H, Stieglitz L, Hänggi-Schickli R, Baumann CR. Beware of deep water after subthalamic deep brain stimulation. Neurology 2019 Epub Nov 27.
Neves MA, Bouça-Machado R, Guerreiro D, Caniça V, Ferreira JJ. Risk of drowning in people with Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord. 2018. p. 1507–1508.
Neves MA, Bouça-Machado R, Guerreiro D, Caniça V, Pona-Ferreira F, Ferreira JJ. Swimming Is Compromised in Parkinson’s Disease Patients. Mov Disord 2019 Epub Dec 4.
We read with great interest the article by Waldvogel et al.1 The researchers report the cases of nine patients who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) who found their swimming ability deteriorated after DBS.
We recently found similar results in two studies focusing on PD patients’ swimming ability.2 According to our survey, 87.7% (n=243) of the patients noticed a change in swimming performance after disease onset and 49.1% (n=136) reported to have had a drowning or near-drowning episode.2 The mean disease duration of the participants was 6 years and all were able to swim before PD onset. In a subsequent study3 evaluating different styles of swimming, only 27% of patients (n = 3) were able to swim according to our definition. The majority of patients presented slower and smaller movements, coordination and breathing difficulties, and an inability to maintain a horizontal position.
We want to highlight that swimming difficulties are not a problem exclusively encountered by DBS patients. They can potentially affect any PD patient from the early stages of the disease. We also would like to reinforce the need to pay attention and to continue studying this important safety issue.
Disclosure
The authors report no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References